


The Uses of Snowdrops and Other Flowers

by rubyofkukundu



Category: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell & Related Fandoms, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2016-02-14
Packaged: 2018-05-20 09:54:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6001662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rubyofkukundu/pseuds/rubyofkukundu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I am a man for hope, Mr Segundus. And for new growth and fresh things. What better way to see us through the rest of winter than to keep a reminder that spring is on its way? For that is what snowdrops are, are they not?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Uses of Snowdrops and Other Flowers

One crisp morning in February, Mr Segundus happened to be passing through the parlour at Starecross. He had breakfasted in the hall with the boys (these young gentlemen being his students), and had then made his way to his study to pick up the books and papers he needed for that morning's lesson. Once done, he had set off for the morning room in which the lesson would take place, and was obliged to pass through the parlour to get there.

Normally the parlour was empty in the mornings, but on this day it was not so. For in the parlour stood John Childermass (who, along with Vinculus, had been Mr Segundus' guest at Starecross for some time). Vinculus was not to be seen at this moment, however: John Childermass was alone, and he stood at one of the tables, arranging some freshly-cut snowdrops into a vase.

"Good morning, Mr Childermass," greeted Mr Segundus. "I hope you are well. When you didn't join us for breakfast this morning, I had worried that you were ill."

"Quite well, sir. You needn't concern yourself on that front." Childermass gave him a smile before returning his attention to the flowers. "I have been out in the gardens this morning instead, collecting these snowdrops."

"They are very nice," said Mr Segundus, stepping closer to look at them. "It was good of you to bring them in." He hesitated for a moment. "Although, if you don't mind my saying, I hadn't imagined you to be a man for flowers."

Childermass gave him a complacent grin. "I am a man for hope, Mr Segundus," said he. "And for new growth and fresh things. What better way to see us through the rest of winter than to keep a reminder that spring is on its way? For that is what snowdrops are, are they not?"

Mr Segundus laughed. "I suppose you are right. It certainly brightens the room to have them here."

Childermass, placing the flowers into the vase, paused and pursed his lips in a thoughtful manner. Then he selected one of the blossoms, walked over to Mr Segundus and, without ceremony, tucked it into the uppermost buttonhole on Mr Segundus' coat.

"There now," said Childermass, stepping back to admire his work. "A reminder of spring for you to carry around with you."

"Oh!" Mr Segundus hefted his books over to his other arm so that he might peer down at the flower more easily. "Thank you." He looked over at Childermass, who had returned to the table and the vase. "That is very kind of you, Mr Childermas. That is very kind indeed."

Childermass smiled at him. "It's my pleasure, sir."

What fresh, new things flowers are! Mr Segundus felt quite buoyed up by this encounter, and it was with a great deal of happiness and enthusiasm that he made his way through to the morning room and his lesson. Indeed, as he was teaching he found himself looking down at the snowdrop in his buttonhole and thinking about all Childermass had said regarding hope and spring flowers and new growth. It was an interesting topic where magic was concerned, and without quite meaning to Mr Segundus had soon diverted his lesson onto the subject of flowers and their magical properties.

This went down very well with Mr Segundus' young charges (which is no great shock, as the topic of flowers and magic is a fascinating one); so much so that, halfway through the lesson, Mr Segundus sent one of the boys off to find Childermass and ask if they might borrow a few of his snowdrops to practice on. To Mr Segundus' surprise, the boy returned with the whole vase and the message that, "Mr Childermass said that we might use them all, sir, if it helps us with our learning." Thus, the remainder of the lesson was spent upon all sorts of magical experiments and pleasant diversions.

Yet, as interesting as any subject may be, students are still students and will always rush out of a lesson once it has ended as if there were a fire at their heels. Indeed, on this morning they may have left the room faster even than normal. Mr Segundus, however, had been teaching for long enough that he was familiar with the whims of young men and so gave it little thought. He tidied up the morning room a little, picked up his books and papers, and headed off for his study.

As before, Mr Segundus was obliged to make his way through the parlour to get to his destination. Childermass was no longer there, but there was someone else entering the parlour from the other direction: it was Mrs Bull, the housekeeper.

"Oh, sir!" cried she, as soon as she had set eyes upon him. "Not you as well! It is bad enough with the students rushing off to waste a day in such things, without you joining them!"

Mr Segundus frowned and was about to ask what Mrs Bull meant, but she continued on without a moment's pause.

"They have all gone off, Mr Segundus! All run down to the village or, Lord save me, farther afield. They even tried to take their horses, and I believe some of them would have ridden to York, but Charles saw them in the stables and stopped them. You'll be lucky if any of them return in time for dinner, let alone for the rest of this morning's lessons." She sighed in a very put-upon way. "All to run off and woo a bunch of silly girls who don't know any better! And to see you encouraging the young gentlemen so by joining in! Not that your lady is a 'silly girl' of course, sir, begging your pardon. I'm sure she's a very fine and upstanding woman." Mrs Bull gave Mr Segundus a polite smile. "May I ask who she is?"

Mr Segundus' frown had grown even further. "Lady, Mrs Bull? I'm afraid I don't understand. Do you mean to say that all the students have gone?"

"Aye, almost all of them," returned Mrs Bull. "Gone a-courting; much good as it'll do them without their parents' permission."

"Courting?" mused Mr Segundus, frowning still.

"Yes, sir," said Mrs Bull, appearing somewhat unsettled by Mr Segundus' confusion. "For Valentine's Day, of course." She bobbed a curtsey. "Just as you have done. Which good lady gave you that Valentine, if I may ask?"

"Valentine?" exclaimed Mr Segundus. He saw that Mrs Bull was looking pointedly at the snowdrop sitting in his buttonhole. "Oh no! I'm sorry, Mrs Bull, but you are mistaken. This isn't a Valentine!"

"Begging your pardon, sir," said Mrs Bull, dropping another curtsey, "but if a gentleman wears a flower on Valentine's Day, I should be very surprised to hear that it is not a Valentine. I had not expected it of you, to be sure, but I suppose a man will tire of being a bachelor eventually." Here Mrs Bull gave another smile. "And, as I say, I am sure she is a fine woman; to be chosen by you, she must be."

Mr Segundus had turned rather pink. "There has been a misunderstanding, Mrs Bull. This flower isn't from a lady. It is from Mr Childermass."

"Oh!" said Mrs Bull, and she lost her smile in favour of a large frown. "Oh, that is very low. That is very low indeed! I had always thought Mr Childermass to be a good man, and good to you in particular, sir, despite his looking so unsavoury; but now I see that a man who looks so dark must have a bit of darkness in him after all. It is cruel of him to mock you so! Oh, it may be true that you don't go much for courting and romance, but that does not mean that you could not if you wanted to! Why, Mr Segundus, I'm sure you could find many nice ladies if you so desired! And it is wrong for Mr Childermass to play such a trick. It is not as if he is some gallant gentleman with ladies swooning at his feet himself! What with that foreboding way of his (and he's no oil-painting neither, I can tell you) I imagine that most women must run off in a fright when they see him!"

Throughout this tirade of Mrs Bull's, Mr Segundus had grown pinker still. He stood frowning, with his mouth open, and it was a good few moments before he found the wherewithal to interject. "Mrs Bull," said he finally, and then had to pause to clear his throat. "Mrs Bull, do you mean to say that Mr Childermass has given me a flower as a Valentine in order to mock me? Because he finds the thought of my receiving a Valentine so very laughable?"

"As I said, sir, it is low of him. Very low."

"And you are certain?"

Mrs Bull nodded, wide-eyed. "Why else would he give you a Valentine, Mr Segundus?"

At this, Mr Segundus was silent. He covered his mouth with a hand and frowned down at the floor.

Mrs Bull tutted. "I won't see you so unhappy, sir. He has been cruel for cruelty's sake and that won't do. I have a mind to go and tell him exactly what I think of his actions."

"No, please don't, Mrs Bull," said Mr Segundus. He shook his head. "I should see to it myself. Do you know where Mr Childermass is?"

"Last I heard, he was in his study with Vinculus." Mrs Bull gave Mr Segundus an encouraging smile. "It is good of you to do it, sir. It will mean more coming from you." And with a final curtsey she said, "I must go and see to the bedrooms. But don't you let it trouble you, Mr Segundus. You are respected in this house, and one man's mean actions won't change that."

"Thank you," replied Mr Segundus, and he gave Mrs Bull a weak smile as she left the room.

Despite his declaration that he would go and to talk to Childermass, Mr Segundus did not do so immediately. It is true that for a moment he had looked longingly at the door as if he had meant to go, but he did not move in that direction. Instead he sighed, put down his books upon the table, then sat in a chair by the window and stared out at the garden.

A long time passed while Mr Segundus remained in this position. Sometimes he frowned, and sometimes his lips moved without making any sound, and sometimes his hand trembled upon the arm of the chair. On several occasions he looked down at the snowdrop in his buttonhole with a curious sort of expression on his face. Anyone watching might have wondered if Mr Segundus intended to sit in such contemplation until dinner! But it was not so. Finally, with a great, deep breath, Mr Segundus stood and made his way to Childermass' study.

Upon Mr Segundus' knocking on Childermass' door, Childermass called for Mr Segundus to enter. Mr Segundus did so, shutting the door carefully behind him.

Inside, Childermass was sitting at his desk, and he smiled to see Mr Segundus. (It could perhaps have been thought a mocking smile, but then, any smile upon Childermass' crooked face looked something like a mocking smile.)

Mr Segundus had turned a little pale as he looked around the room. "Is Mr Vinculus not with you?" he asked.

"No." And Childermass' smile grew the greater. "We have had enough of each other for one morning." He gestured to the chair beside his. "Please sit down, Mr Segundus."

"Thank you," replied Mr Segundus, even though he remained standing. He looked from the chair, to the wall, to the floor, to the window, and the pallor in his face was replaced with a bright crimson as he licked his lips and, finally looking from the snowdrop in his buttonhole to Childermass, asked, "Mr Childermass, have you given me a... a Valentine?"

"Ah," said Childermass with a light in his eye. "You have finally realised, have you?"

The colour in Mr Segundus' face darkened. "I..." he said. "Did you...?" He cleared his throat. "Mrs Bull... That is to say, Mrs Bull seems to think that you have given me a Valentine in order to mock me."

Childermass' brow quirked. "Mock you?"

"Because the idea of my being the recipient of a Valentine, or of any sort of romance, is a ridiculous one. And while I will admit that I..."

Childermass laughed loudly. "No, sir. No. I am very far from mocking you."

Mr Segundus' frown suggested that he did not appear at all convinced by this statement.

Childermass' smile softened. "Do not fear, Mr Segundus; I laugh only because the thought of my mocking you in this is so implausible as to be absurd." He pushed back his chair and stood. "You may rest assured that I am entirely serious."

"But..." said Mr Segundus. "That..." His hands had started trembling again so that he was forced to clasp them together. "If you did not mean it to mock me, then that must mean that you have given me a Valentine as a... a..."

"A love-token," supplied Childermass.

"A love-token," repeated Mr Segundus, his voice breaking upon the word.

Childermass looked upon him. Mr Segundus looked back in return. (And, while Mr Segundus was still a bright red, could it be that there was a little pinkness to Childermass cheeks as well?)

"It is true?" asked Mr Segundus, shakily. "You have given me a love-token?"

"Ah, well," replied Childermass, suddenly finding something very interesting to look at on the far wall. "That would depend, Mr Segundus, on whether or not you would like to receive one."

"If I...?" Mr Segundus frowned. "But it... Surely that doesn't have any bearing upon your intentions."

"Oh, but it does," said Childermass, transferring his gaze to the floor. "For, you see, if it turns out that you do not wish to receive a love-token from me, why, then I may pretend that I hadn't intended it to be a love-token at all, and so save face." He finally turned his gaze to Mr Segundus and gave him an odd sort of a smile.

Mr Segundus put his hands to his mouth. "Oh," he said quietly, after a moment. "Oh, Mr Childermass." Then he stepped up to Childermass and reached out with trembling fingers to take hold of one of Childermass' hands. This hand was pressed, gently, between Mr Segundus' palms, with Mr Segundus staring down at it all the while. "Oh, Mr Childermass," he said again.

Childermass continued to smile his odd smile. He curled his fingers around Mr Segundus' thin ones and said, "A Valentine normally requires a response, sir."

"A response..." said Mr Segundus.

"Yes or no," suggested Childermass. "Whether you are happy to receive the Valentine or not. You might imagine that I have a particular interest in the answer."

Mr Segundus looked up at Childermass then, with eyes wide. Yet it took several moments before Mr Segundus could bring himself to talk, for it seemed that at first, when he opened his mouth, all that would come out of it was a whisper.

"I..." Mr Segundus swallowed and tried again. "Mr Childermass." He looked down at their hands. "I had not thought... I had not looked for... God help me, I had sometimes wished it but..." There was a smile growing upon his face as he looked up to meet Childermass' eyes again. "Can it truly be that you love me, Mr Childermass? For I must admit that I..." He licked his lips and his voice grew hoarse. "...have loved you for a long time. Or, at least, it feels as if it was so. I hadn't... You must understand, that I'm not sure I have ever allowed myself to name it fully, or to... to..."

"I had hoped so, Mr Segundus." Childermass smiled in return. "I had a great hope that it might be so. After all, we have been very close this past while, and have been growing closer still. Though I couldn't say for certain, I had thought, perhaps, that were I to make a show of my affections, I might not be rebuffed."

Mr Segundus' smile grew wider. "Your hope was well placed, sir." And then Mr Segundus let out a laugh, apparently without meaning to, for the next moment he covered his mouth with his hand. "I suppose," said Mr Segundus from behind it, still smiling, "that the next step must be for me to give you a Valentine in return, so that you may be entirely without doubt in the matter." He frowned briefly. "Though I have to admit that we have no snowdrops left, for I used them all up in my lesson."

Childermass laughed too. "You need not worry about the snowdrops, Mr Segundus. I intended for them to be used in your lesson; that was why I gave you them all."

"It was good of you to do so," said Mr Segundus, reaching down to clasp Childermass' hand between both of his once more. "But it still means that I have nothing to give you in return." He looked thoughtful. "Perhaps a verse would do? I am not a poet, but if I have some time to write then I may..."

"I think you'll find that a kiss makes quite an acceptable Valentine," suggested Childermass.

"Oh!" said Mr Segundus. "Oh!" And the hand which had but a moment ago left his mouth now returned to it. "You would want to, Mr Childermass?"

At this, Childermass gave a great, wide grin. "I have just given you a love-token, sir. Of course I would want to kiss you."

Mr Segundus flushed. "I should like to," he admitted, looking to the floor. "I should like to. But..." He took a breath. "I am sure you will not be surprised to learn that I... I... When it comes to romance I have not... That is, there has not been the opportunity to practice the..."

"And you think I am so very experienced myself?" said Childermass. "I can tell you that I do not have as many secrets in my past as my appearance might first suggest."

Mr Segundus looked at him, and Childermass smiled in return.

"Come, sir," said Childermass. "If it is practice you are lacking, then you shall find ample opportunity to practise with me."

"Oh, Mr Childermass." And the smile that Mr Segundus gave him was so grateful that Childermass laughed out loud.

When, in the next moment, they kissed (for indeed they did), the poor snowdrop in Mr Segundus' buttonhole was less fortunate, as it got rather crushed in the process. But if either Mr Segundus or Childermass noticed, they did not seem to mind.


End file.
